The present invention is directed to a device useful for measuring a movement metric of a body. Specifically, the present is directed to a device useful for measuring a difference in a movement metric of a body.
There is a need to measure efficiently, precisely, easily, and reproducibly differences in bodily movement—particularly in the physical therapy area. Progress in physical therapy treatments from one session to the next can be subtle, with very little discernable changes. Nevertheless, a record of any changes, improvement or not, is important for reasons such as tracking efficacy of treatment modalities, alerting of any change in physical condition, and reporting any need for further treatments. Additionally, treatment reimbursements may depend on a showing of impairment and improvement. Further, for the patient, any such seemingly lack of improvement can be discouraging and may lead to noncompliance to treatment protocols. Thus, there is a need for a device useful for measuring a movement metric of a body.
One out of every seventeen people has difficulty swallowing (dysphagia). Thus, this condition affects 6 to 10 million people in the U.S. alone. Of these, approximately only a few hundred are hospital patients, fewer than a thousand are nursing home patients, while approximately a third are rehabilitation patients. The most common outcome of dysphagia is aspiration pneumonia, which has estimated costs of $19,000 per patient with a national cost exceeding $3 billion per year.
While there are a number of treatment protocols and methods that are used by speech and physical therapists to assist in correcting this debilitating condition, there is no reliable, objective, and non-invasive method that allows the practitioner to gauge the patient's therapeutic progress. Accordingly, there is a need for a reliable, simple, non-invasive method and device to measure the therapeutic progress of such patients.